Saturday, March 31, 2012

MeduSirena and the Mermaids at the Wreck Bar - Fort Lauderdale

Not very long ago I drove a very long way to see a very famous Florida mermaid show which was fairly entertaining.

In keeping with the theme of "Living like a tourist in my own backyard" I found a mermaid show right here in Fort Lauderdale. Who knew? Well most of my friends did it seems. I don't miss much but this slipped right off my radar.

MeduSirena Marina

MeduSirena Marina and her mermaids perform at the Wreck Bar in the Sheridan Hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach. Some of us remember it as the old Yankee Clipper but it is old no more. There has been a top to bottom renovation but the 1950's pool with viewing ports in the bar is still there. Parking is across the street for $10.00 and a sky bridge gets you to the hotel for safe street crossing. The sky bridge is also a pretty obvious landmark to find the place. The bar itself is small and extremely overdone. Just the way I like it. I got there at 5:30 when the doors opened for the 6:30 show and camped out right on the bar in front of the windows, camera charged and ready.

My first impression of MeduSirena - fabulously beautiful and not the kind of woman you can just go up to and talk to.

Don't worry about that. If you are in the bar waiting for the show, she will come right up and talk to YOU like you are old friends. I know this because I had never met her before and we had quite a conversation. She has been performing for 25 years and headlining the mermaid show at the Wreck Bar for the last five. She does some other interesting shows as a fire eater elsewhere which I'm sure will wind in my blog soon. We were deep in conversation right up to show time.

When the first mermaid glided by the window the place was jammed. Half the crowd knew there was something happening with cameras, phones, and iPad's at the ready. The rest - total surprise. From the very first pass this show was incredible. All four mermaids are not only stunning but brought with them plenty of personality to go with their athletic grace. Winks, bubbly kisses, long flowing hair, and crowd interaction are what you get and all the action is right up against the glass. Very different from that other show way up the road.

After the performance the mermaids pose for pictures, answer questions, and generally just look amazing one flight up on the pool deck.

MeduSirena is the undisputed ring leader and to say she engages the audience is an understatement. If you are not careful, you will be knee deep in the pool with your friends laughing so hard they will have trouble holding their camera still long enough to get the shot.

I got plenty in case you missed yours. Head over to my Flickr page and see the best of them. I'm sure I can do better. MeduSirena invited me to swim along with the mermaids in a future show. Yeah - that's not gonna happen but I will go back with friends and a different camera soon. Shows are every Friday night at 6:30 and last 30 minutes or more.

Tui, Make sure that you also hit up the Mai Kai while you're in Lauderdale. It's one of the last of the true mid-century Tiki Bars and still has a fantastic Polynesian Show with all sorts of Fire Dancing, Hula and the like, straight from the South Pacific (the gardens are nice too).

I got to meet Marina when she happens to be by the bakery ;) Oh, and she is super nice. My husband and I went to see her show. Marvelously engaging. Loved it. Mermaid fantasy's are good for the child in all of us. SFlaGuy stop by yourself sometime tourists love us!!!

About Me

I am constantly in search of new experiences. The great thing about living in South Florida, I don't need to go very far to find them. I tend to look for fun, inexpensive, and unique activities. When I find something I really enjoy, I like to share with my friends.